


S-Simulation

by Corvid_Knight



Series: Grubbabies [4]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: my tumblr is knight-of-heart-and-art
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-20
Updated: 2018-06-29
Packaged: 2019-05-09 08:47:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14712921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Corvid_Knight/pseuds/Corvid_Knight
Summary: Dave and Karkat's kids play a game.(It doesn't destroy the world, but otherwise it's pretty fucking similar to the game we all know and fear.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> the players' names, godtiers, pronouns, and strife specibi are listed in the end notes!

**== > Be Delphi.**

For you, it starts when Davepeta drops down next to you while you're at the park with Karkat. Well, Karkat's here somewhere, at least, but right now he's otherwise occupied so it's Myrmyr sitting next to you at the picnic table, talking and (probably) signing, even if you can't see her hands. 

You know she's signing anyway, just like you know she's a _she_ right now, instead of _he_ or _they._ Just like you know that Davepeta's just landed on the table even though you can't see them. 

It's your special thing. You _know_ things, without seeing them. 

"Hey, Davepeta!" Myr says brightly. "Fletch's over there—" 

"Yep, but Delphi's the one I want to talk to right meow," the sprite says, tapping your shoulder gently as they settle next to you. "Can I get mew to maybe go find Karkles or somebody and hang with them for a minute, Myrmyr?" 

Myrmyr pouts, you can sense them doing it, but they don't argue. After a second you hear them get to their feet and run off, leaving you with Davepeta and a growing sense of unease. 

"Hey," they say. "Your wriggling day's coming up, huh?" 

"Uh-huh." It's not for two more weeks, though, and you feel like Davepeta knows that. "I'll be thirteen." 

"Yeah. Six sweeps, for trolls." They chirp softly, a bird-noise rather than a troll-noise, and one that you recognize as something like a sigh from them. "It's kind of an important number—" 

"—for those of us who played the game," you finish for them as they hesitate. Usually, you wouldn't do that. Wouldn't act on the premonitions, at least not just for what people say. But right now you just feel like you should. "The big game? Sburb?" 

"And Sgrub," they agree. "It's got a lot of names." 

"Dads told us that, yeah." 

Davepeta makes an uncomfortable chirring noise, and you sense them digging in an inner pocket of their long coat. It has a _lot_ of pockets, of varying sizes; nobody's really sure what they keep in them. "...yeah. Delphi, I'm going to give mew something your dads would _definitely_ kill me for." 

"They can't really kill you." 

"For this, they'd fucking try." You can hear the seriousness in the sprite's voice as they take your hand and press something into it, something about the size of a paperback book but cooler and heavier. 

To your extra sense, the one that sometimes takes the place of your absent vision, this feels...weird. You can't get any kind of a read off it, like it exists a little to one side of the reality that you're in. 

When you run your fingers across it, you find that the bottom half has a keyboard and some other buttons. Below that, there's four letters, raised enough from the casing for you to finger-read them. 

"S-sim," you say out loud. "Ess sim?" 

For a second Davepeta's silent, until they remember that you can't see them nodding. "Exactly. S-sim." 

"Like S- _burb_?"

The noise they make is somewhere between a caw and a yowl, surprisingly quiet and amazingly unhappy. "A lot like Sburb." 

You think about it for a moment, turning S-sim over in your hands and trying to get a better feel for what it is. A handheld video game, you think, based on the keyboard and the screen. Roxy and Dave both said their copies of Sburb were discs, and you're pretty sure that Meenah and Aradia said the same thing about Sgrub. They also said...

"If I turn it on, it'll destroy the universe?" You really don't want that to happen. Your family, everyone you know, is part of the universe; destroying it would be...bad. 

But you know Davepeta's answer before they say it. 

"Playing this doesn't destroy the universe like playing the other ones did. There's a reason it's called S- _sim,_ Delphi." 

"Oh. Okay." You know there's a question you need to ask, but you don't know what it is. "What if I don't play it?" 

Davepeta makes another unhappy caw/yowl. "I can't tell mew." 

"But?" There's a _but._ You know there is. 

"But it'll be bad. Maybe on a cosmic level." You can sense them hunching down, ruffling their wings up as if that'll protect them from whatever they're so afraid of. "It might be bad if mew _do_ play, though, kiddo. For mew, and for and whoever else you choose to play with you." 

"What if just I play, and nobody else?" 

"You can't. That one's preprogrammed—eight players, no more, no less. Delphi, there's a chance you're going to get hurt—" 

"There's a chance we'll get killed," you finish for them again. "If you already know I need to play, how come you're trying to talk me out of it?" 

Davepeta hesitates. 

Then, reluctantly, "Because I played. _Twice._ And it fucking sucked, alright? And mew're a fucking _kid_ , almost _my_ kid, and if it's a choice between mew playing that goddamn thing, or the reborn dying—" 

" _What_?" 

"...shit." They didn't mean to say that part, you realize, and you can imagine the pained look on their face. "Look—" 

"I'm playing it, Davepeta." The reborn ones—the people who died in one of the four universes that were involved in the session that created Earth C, and were reborn here—those are your friends, your family. If the reborn died, you'd lose—

So many people. 

Davepeta mutters under their breath, curses in at least two languages. Maybe three, if you want to count the crow noises they mix in with it. "Be careful," they say, finally. "The game should give mew instructions when mew turn it on—it'll make itself accessible to mew even though you can't see it, voice walkthrough, but have at least one of the people you want to play with you when you turn it on anyway. Just in case. And—" 

"—don't let any grownups see it." You can trust your siblings to keep the secret, but either of your dads would confiscate the little game in a second flat, if they found out about it. "I can handle that." 

"I wish you didn't have to," Davepeta almost whispers, and leans down to kiss your forehead. "Be careful, okay?" 

"I will. I promise." And you stow S-sim in the pocket of your hoodie, as you hear the sound of wingbeats signaling Davepeta's departure.


	2. Chapter 2

**== > Be Dave. Also, be just a lil' confused.**

Something is up, and you're not sure what. 

Maybe it's that half your kids've been practicing with their strife specibi a hell of a lot more than is really normal. It's not like it's something you ever made them do if they didn't want to, but for the last week and a half you've caught a bunch of them practicing alone and together. Plus, Lutein came to ask for help with setting up xeir specibus, which is weird as fuck since xey actively refused your offer to help with that a couple months ago, on their thirteenth birthday. 

Xey didn't want to explain now, either, and after a little bit of pressing you let it go and moved on to figuring out what kind xey wanted. You helped xem settle on ropekind, eventually—a little unorthodox, but suited to xeir quiet nature. A garrote is a rope, after all, and so is a whip. So is the scarf xey always wear, in a pinch. 

The whole sparring thing makes you just a little uneasy, but you brush that off as leftover worry from the shit with Bro, even though that was _really_ fucking long ago. As Rose so often informs you, there's no statue of limitations on trauma. But your kids don't cause anything other than very minor injuries—scraped knees and busted lips, for the most part—and they're all immediately apologetic when they accidentally hurt each other.

They're careful. It's fine. 

(Although Karkat is less than thrilled when Fenrir uses the drinking glasses for target practice with their dartkind specibus. Eh, at least only two get broken, and that happens when they hit the ground, not when Fenrir's darts hit them.) 

And hey, all this strifing counts as exercise, right? Right. 

It's a good thing. Or at least like, not a bad thing.

You still ban it from happening _inside_ the house, especially during Delphi's birthday party. And since it's not happening, you kind of quit worrying about it.

* * *

**== > Be Delphi. Well, for a minute anyway.**

All the others have been listening to you, thankfully. You _know_ which of your siblings have to play the game with you; deciding that is the easy part, because you can almost see which of them will be in there with you. 

When the game asks for names, you enter them in. Nonomi sits next to you and double-checks that you spell everything right, even if you're usually already correcting your spelling before they point out a mistake. 

Once everyone's entered in, you tell them to make sure to practice fighting. You don't _really_ tell them why, other than Jazehn because he won't stop asking, but since you told Jaz, you're pretty sure that the other six know. 

Which is good. 

They would've agreed to joining the game if you'd asked them first. You _know_ it, because in some timelines you _did_ ask them, and they said yes. You _know_ that. 

But anyway, everyone else trains, and you practice with your dual specibi—canekind and tridentkind, gifts from Terezi and Feferi respectively—and you all get better at fighting. Well, as much better as you can in two weeks, anyway. 

You kind of wish Davepeta had given you S-sim earlier. Or that you can actually enter the game later. 

But Nonomi says there's a countdown on the top of the screen, and you don't have to ask what the numbers are to know it'll run out at about noon on your birthday, because you can see it, clear green numbers against the smudged darkness that's all that remains of your damaged vision.

* * *

**== > Be Karkat, trying to light these _fucking_ candles.**

Well, technically what you're doing is giving up on trying to light these _fucking_ candles, but close enough. "Jazehn!"

"Yep!" After a second they dash into the room, skidding on the floor and almost crashing into the table. The only reason they don't knock the cake down is because you grab their arm and pull them to a stop. "What?" 

"Well, if you can manage to not trash Jane's masterpiece, I was going to ask you to light the candles." You grin down at them, nodding at the cake. "Dave'll have everybody in as soon as we get that part done, since everything else is set up." 

"Awesome." Jaz nods and stares at the cake, eyes sparking with dark red as they call up their talent. Unlike the last time they started a fire, they click in the back of their throat just once, and all thirteen candles light at once. 

You're oddly pleased that their control and power's still improving. And pretty fucking proud that they can get thirteen small flames going at once. 

Right on time (of course), Dave pushes Delphi into the room, the rest of your kids trailing after them. You notice that Nonomi's got one hand over Myrmyr's month. He probably needs it right now; he's bouncing slightly, eyes wide and excited, white psionic lightning sparking off his horns. 

Nonomi's got a good handle on it, you decide. And they do let go of Myr when you all start singing Happy Birthday to Delphi, so it's all good. No need for you to step in. 

"Wanna cut the cake, Del?" Dave asks after she blows out the candles, but she's shaking her head even before he finishes the question. 

"Nope. Corvid wants you to do it with your sword, anyway." 

Dave raises an eyebrow, glancing over as Corvid giggles and hides behind Enigma. "They do, huh? But it's _your_ birthday, kiddo." 

"Uh-huh." Delphi blinks, smiling up at Dave for a second. "And I want them to see what they want." 

You have to grin, as Dave nods and gently pushes Delphi back so they're out of the way. You have the fucking _sweetest_ kids. 

And you can't blame Corvid for wanting to see Dave wield his blade. He's still so fucking fast with it, even though you know he's not drawing on his godtier powers even a little—in the space between heartbeats, he draws his sword from the specibus, sections the cake into a fuckton of slices, and turns to grin at the kids, who actually cheer as he licks icing and crumbs off the side of the blade. 

They're all more than capable of transferring the slices of cake onto plates—or, in a couple cases, just picking up a piece and shoving it in their mouths—so you just shake your head and pull Dave out of the way and into a kiss, lacing your fingers through the hand that's not holding the sword. "Showoff." 

"Hey, babe, anything for my kids." He grins, wrapping an arm around your waist and nodding at Corvid, who's balancing their plate in one hand, signing to Fletch with the other so they don't have to talk with a mouthful of cake. "You know they got a thing for swordplay." 

"Your stupid Welsh sword is the shiniest fucking thing we own, dork. _That's_ what they have a thing for." 

The look of disappointment on Dave's face at that revelation is almost comical. "...well, fuck." 

"Oh, cheer up and eat your fucking cake." And you lean over to grab a slice and start feeding it to him like he's a baby bird.

As he tries to lick your hand, you get distracted by the fact that Delphi, who's already finished their cake, is counting quietly. Counting backwards, at a rate of what you'd guess is one number a second. As in, she's counting down to something.

"Hey, Delphi—" Dave, who's obviously realized the same thing you did, starts to ask. 

"Three...two...onedadsI'msorrybutthisisreallyreallyimportant—zero—" 

They reach out and hit a button on what you _assumed_ was their tablet, lying on the table in front of them. 

Now that you look, you realize that their tablet never had a "== >" for an enter key. 

The flash is the green of the fucking sun, of Jade's powers, of a fucking bunch of shit from too fucking long ago. It burns your eyes, makes you blink. 

Dave howls despairingly and tries to lunge forward, and you instinctively hold him back as you blink the afterimages out of your eyes and see that Delphi, at least, is gone. 

And from the color-coded list of names on the not-tablet's screen, you're so fucking afraid that Del isn't the only one. 

_This can't be happening. Not again. Not to our kids. It fucking_ can't.


	3. Chapter 3

**== > Be...uhh...Jazehn. Yeah, be Jazehn.**

You actually weren't a hundred percent sure what was going to happen when Delphi's timer ran out, but this is kind of...hm. You don't really want to call it _cool._ It's a bit too unnerving to qualify as cool. 

Okay. 

You're in a place. It's...not really a room? You don't know what it is, but everything is black and you can't see walls or ceiling or floor. You _can_ see your siblings—not all of them, just the seven who had their names entered into Delphi's game. So it's not like it's dark, just...

Black. 

"Everybody's here," Delphi says, and it's a statement instead of a question even though you know she can't see anybody. 

"Yeah, but Lielin won't let me _go,_ " Fenrir complains. There's a chorus of sighs, and Nonomi and Ferrus—um. 

Okay, they move over to your yellowblooded sibling and your indigo one, but you're not sure just _how_ they move. It's not like walking. You're not sure what it's like, except you can feel how they do it in your head. 

Huh. 

Weird. 

You dismiss the weirdness, for right now anyway, and wait for Nonomi and Ferrus to disentangle Lielin from Fenrir. Once they do, the yellowblood immediately presses up against Nonomi's side, staring distrustfully at the void around them. 

"Del, you didn't say it was gonna be _dark..._ " they almost whisper.

Delphi just shakes their head, fiddling with their earpiece and frowning as they hit keys on the little tablet that's still in their hands. "Lielin, I love you, but you gotta admit that that's one thing I really couldn't know, okay?" And they raise their head to blink their blind blue eyes meaningfully. 

Myrmyr giggles, and you absently reach over and pap their hair. (When did you get over here by them, anyway?) 

You get distracted from thinking about that when Delphi chirps in satisfaction, and glowing green letters half your height appear in the blackness in front of you. 

Greetings, Players.

"Greetings, players," Lutien reads out, but Delphi shakes her head. 

"It's in my earpiece," she says. "I can hear it." 

Please state your names.

For a second, nobody says anything. 

Then, "Delphi." 

"Lutien." 

"Jazehn." You tap Myr's hands to get their attention, then sign, _You need to tell it your name._

They blink quizzically, then grin and nod. "Myrmyr!" 

"Fenrir." 

"Ferrus." 

"Nonomi." Nonomi nudges Leilin as they say their name, chirring softly until the yellow relaxes a little. Not very much, but it's a bit of an improvement. 

" ...Lielin." 

The roster is complete for an eight-player session. System presets have been made. Accept presets? Y/N

"Yes?" Fenrir says cautiously after a moment. 

Selection must be made by server player. Accept presets? Y/N

"What's a server player?" Myrmyr asks. 

"Me, I think." Delphi's voice sounds very small. "Um. No? I want to change presets." 

Please enter administrative passwords.

"I don't have those." 

System presets have been made. Accept presets?

Delphi opens their mouth, then hesitates. "Guys?" 

"You're the boss," Nonomi says. Next to them, Lielin nods, and Ferrus grins, showing all their teeth.

"Dads are going to be mad at us," Lutien points out. Then xey grin. "But I'm in." 

_You ready?_ you sign to Myrmyr. When they nod, you look up at Delphi. "We're good, Del." 

"Okay." Delphi takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly and hitting a key on their tablet. "Yes, accept presets." 

The following settings have been set and cannot be adjusted: Number of players (8). Number of lands (4). Cooperative play (yes).

"Oh thank god," Lielin mutters. 

Please select teams. 

Delphi frowns and types something into their tablet. 

Number of teams (4). 

"Oh, duh." Delphi shakes their head. "One for each land. So who's with who?" 

"I'll go with Lielin," Nonomi says immediately. 

Fenrir and Lutien look at each other for a second, then immediately say, "We're together." (And as soon as they say it they really are just an arm's length away from each other. How does that even work?) 

"Me and Myr," you say, mostly because Myrmyr has to go with someone who can see their signing in case they go nonverbal and you're closer than Ferrus. 

"And me and Ferrus, got it." Delphi's been typing this whole time; now they hit the enter key and something beeps. 

Teams have been set. Heart/Void. Space/Light. Hope/Life.

"Am I Life?" Myrmyr asks. 

_Don't know; be quiet,_ you sign. 

_You be quiet,_ they sign back, and stick out their tongue. You sigh and look up just in time to see the last pairing come up on the darkness. 

Time/Blood.

"That's like Dave and Karkat," Lutien says softly. 

The lands are set. Review lands?

"Yes!" That comes from at least five throats. (And one set of hands.) 

Land of Blades and Flowers, LOBAF.  
Land of Glass and Tone, LOGAT. Land of Tomes and Death, LOTAD. Land of Copper and Crystal, LOCAC.

"Blades?" Lielin says uncertainly. 

" _Death_?" you ask, squeaking on the last bit of that word. You kind of really don't like the sound of that. At all. Like, to the point where you instinctively click in the back of your throat, call comforting flames to circle your hands. 

That does not help as much as you hoped it would.

All settings confirmed. Entering in 5. 4. 3. 2. 1.

You assume it goes to zero. 

You don't know that for sure, though, because everything abruptly goes pale yellow-gold, and not even the fire you can't help but create around you can change the hue that's seemingly replaced black as what you see when you squeeze your eyes shut.


	4. Chapter 4

**== >Be Dave.**

Fuck. _Fuck._

You can't breathe right. You haven't been able to breathe right for what seems like forever, but your time sense reliably informs you has been about twenty minutes. 

Knowing how long it's been doesn't help. The fact that Karkat's holding you doesn't help. Dirk and Hal both standing there trying to puzzle out that _fucking_ handheld game, S-sim, that doesn't help, because your fucking kids are in it. 

Your kids are playing the game. 

You played that same fucking game, and you know what happens. Karkat's played that game, and he lost two-thirds of his friends to it. They died, you died, your friends died, your kids—

No. No. No, no, no no no, okay you can't breathe at _all_ now despite Karkat's best efforts to calm you because your kids are in so much danger and there's nothing you can do—

**== > ...shit.**

**== > Okay, uh. Fuck.**

**== > Let's. Be Dirk instead, for right now.**

Dave's shuddering and gasping again. The sounds are like a physical blow, but you know that you need to figure out how S-sim works, instead of trying to help your brother. Karkat has him. He'll be okay. 

(You're trying not to think about the look on Karkat's face. Like he's just been stabbed, deep enough to eventually kill him but fast enough that he can only see the blood, not feel the wound yet.) 

(You're not doing a great job at not thinking about that.) 

"Dirk," Hal says quietly, reaching over to snag the handheld game out of your hands, "sit the fuck down." 

"But—" 

"You're shaking almost as badly as he is, and this isn't getting us anywhere." The android meets your eyes, letting you see how much he believes what he's saying is true as he lowers his voice so far that you can barely hear him. "...it probably _won't_ get us anywhere. I know you recorded Sburb when we ran it; Sollux tried to analyze his version's workings as well. It's beyond us." 

He's right. He really is. 

"If you say that to Dave or Karkat, I'm going to fucking stab you," you warn him, as quietly as you can. 

"I'm realistic, not cruel. Now sit down, let me work on this." 

You nod and do as you're told, going to sit in the chair nearest Dave and Karkat. The troll has your brother in his arms, shushing him with quiet sounds that sound a lot like sobs as Dave buries his face in his grey sweater. 

The broken sounds the two of them are making are enough to break your fucking heart. 

"Dave." He won't look up at you, even when you put one hand on his shoulder. "Dave, we'll get them back." 

"Don't fu-fucking give me that!" Okay, _now_ he jerks his head up, slapping your hand away with enough force that he would've hurt you if it'd been more directed, red eyes blazing out of a tearstained face already swollen from crying. "You played! We all p-played! We all know what fucking happens, you ca—you can't make it through that fucking thing without—without..." 

"Dave, please..." Karkat's voice cracks as Dave shakes his head and pulls out of his grasp, but he doesn't try to stop him. 

"Am I fucking wrong? Am I?" For a second, you're sure that Dave's just going to collapse on the kitchen floor; he stands still for a moment, swaying slightly one hand coming up to wind into his hair, grabbing a handful and compulsively yanking, hard enough that you want to wince, his eyes not focused on either you or Karkat. "Those are—goddamnit, this wasn't supposed to happen, not to our kids, not to our fucking _kids—_ " 

He chokes on that last word, and even though you're not sure you're the one who should be doing this, you get to your feet and grab his arm before he can start pacing. It's like putting your hand on a live wire. "Hey." 

"Dirk—" Dave looks at you, and your aspect gives you a flash of his emotions right now. How his heart feels like it's shattering, with the promise of worse pain in the future. 

In the near future, when the kids start dying. 

God, you want to look away. 

Instead, you meet your brother's eyes until you see them fill up and overflow with tears. Then, you wrap your arms around him, pull him in close enough to speak next to his ear. "They'll be okay." 

"Fucking _l-liar._ " 

"Look at us. We played; we're okay. We all survived." You're uncomfortably aware that you can't say you didn't die.

You did die. You all did. 

And the kids are going to die. Whether they come back or— _no._ Fuck that. They're coming back. All of them. 

"They're gonna die, Dirk," Dave mutters, finally moving to cling to you. His fingers dig into your shoulders, hard enough that you know you'll have bruises later. "I can't—can't—they're—" 

"They're not going to die." Okay, now you really are lying. 

Fuck. 

And Dave knows it, but he just sobs and leans into you. Karkat finally stands up and wraps his arms around you and Dave both, but that's still barely any comfort at all.

* * *

unseenPremonition (UP) created the memo "dads you need to check your messages"!

unseenPremonition added affectionateContact, augmentedSwordplay, untouchableDragon, scholarlyFluff, silentMyrmidion, vibrantFlames, assuredGuardian, turntechGodhead, andcarcinoGeneticist  to the memo!

UP: dads? karkat? dave?   
UP: katkat i know you and dave are maf at me but please check your messages   
UP: *mad 

TG: holy shit thank god  
TG: are you guys okay   
TG: what the hell were you thinking! this isnt a fucking game! 

SM: 1m pretty sure 1t 1s? 1t says 1ts a game davedad 

TG: no myrmyr its not a fucking game trust me okay   
TG: are you all okay 

UP: um 

CG: UM?   
CG: JEGUS DELPHI, WHAT HAPPENED?

UP: nothing yet! i promise! just im onky directly right next to ferrus right now so i don't know abkyr everyone else  
UP: *only *about   
UP: sorry 

SM: 1m here! and jaz 1s okay theyre just k1nda d1stracted cause theres books and bones EVERYWHERE hang on

TG: bones  
TG: shit be careful 

VF: can wE please make It a RulE that myRmyR doEsn't thRow whatEvEr's closEst at mE to gEt my attEntIon? hE just chuckEd a bonE at mE. I thInk It's a FEmuR. 

SM: sorry! 

SF: Be careful, Myrmyr. I mean, you're probably not going to kill them with a bone, but I don't think we can have Fef or Jane come patch us up if we get hurt. 

CG: ARE YOU HURT? ANY OF YOU? 

SF: I'm okay. I accidentally grabbed Fenrir when we got dropped on out planet; that's why they're not responding.   
SF: Nonomi has their message settings set to mute memo notifications; give me a minute. 

AS: oops.   
AS: I'm okay. Lielin's okay, just a lil shook up. 

AC: it's not my fault! :( 

AS: I didn't say it was your fault. calm down, okay? 

AC: it's my fault your braces got tangled up though...

TG: what  
TG: what do you mean tangled up   
TG: fuck are they broken? i dont know how we can get them fixed while youre in the game nonomi 

CG: DAVE, I'M NOT EVEN IN THE SAME ROOM WITH YOU AND I KNOW YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN AND BREATHE. 

TG: cant do either of those right now babe

UP: im sorry   
UP: im going to try to make sure nobody gets hurt okay?   
UP: at least we dont get hirt more than we have to because i know some of us are going to get hurt and maybe well get hurt a lot   
UP: *huwt   
UP: *hurt 

TG: delphi were gonna try and get you all out of that fucking game okay  
TG: hals working on it

UP: no! make him STOP! 

CG: DELPHI, THE GAME ISN'T SAFE. AND THAT'S A MONUMENTAL FUCKING UNDERSTATEMENT, COMPARABLE TO "THE SURFACE OF THE FUCKING SUN ISN'T ALL THAT COLD."

UP: i know its not safe! im not stupid!   
UP: we have to play. or hal and everybody else who came back on eaeth c because they died in their version of the game, they die. 

TG: fuck

CG: OH, GOD.   
CG: DELPHI? 

AG: ERM, SHES KIND OF CRYING. RIGHT NOW.   
AG: IF YOURE GONNA TRY AND TELL HER THAT YOURE GOING TO GET US OUT OF HERE, MAYBE YOU SHOULDNT DO THAT. DAVEPETA SAID THE GAME WOULDNT KILL THE UNIVERSE, AND WERE GOOD ENOUGH TO PLAY THROUGH IT. WELL BE OKAY.

TG: davepeta   
TG: fuck did they do this im going to fucking kill them

SF: I don't think you can kill sprites. 

TG: fucking watch me

SF: Also, maybe consider the fact that Del told us they tried to talk her out of playing. Going by what I know about how the game works, they probably didn't have a choice on whether to give us the game or not. 

CG: XEY HAVE A POINT, DAVE. 

TG: i dont care   
TG: if i lose any of you kids ill tear the fucking universe apart to get you back 

AC: we know, davedad. <3 but we're coming back, promise. 

TG: i   
TG: fuck   
TG: i know   
TG: i believe in you 

UD: guys I don't know about you, but Lutien and I need to get offline and focus right about now.

TG: shit  
TG: be careful okay? me and karkatll keep an eye on the memo if you need info or advice 

CG: WE DID PLAY THROUGH THIS FUCKING GAME OURSELVES, AFTER ALL. 

AS: maybe you're like our sprites. the game didn't give us any to prototype yet.

CG: HOW THE FUCK DOES THAT EVEN WORK? YOU NEED TO PROTOTYPE THE SPRITES TO CREATE THE FINAL BOSS.

TG: kat if they get to skip something dangerous just roll with it   
TG: and you guys be careful  
TG: we love you so much okay?

AS: love you too, dads. 

AC: <3 

UD: air hugs. from me and Lutien; xey're kind of trying to work out a puzzle and it takes both hands. and also my hands apparently SHIT 

SM: 1 love you! so does jaz but they're busy r1ght now! 

AG: LOVE YOU KARKAT.  
AG: LOVE YOU DAVE.

UP: i love you. and im sorry im making you worry. 

TG: its alright delphi   
TG: just  
TG: come home safe. please. 

unseenPremonition  closed the memo!


	5. Chapter 5

**== > Be Nonomi.**

"Almost got it," Lielin mutters, picking at one of the last clumps of grass stuck in the brace clamped around your left arm. "I think." 

"Mhm. Thanks, Lee." You nod, double-check that you've disconnected the power to the brace for the moment (you have) and go back to trying to text with one hand. 

AS: Lielin's almost fixed my brace now, Delphi. do we know what we're looking for yet? 

UP: quest beds or sacrificial slabs or anything like that    
UP: or kernelsprites obviously   
UP: youve listened to dave and karkat and everybody talk about their games as much as anybody i think, uoill know whats important    
UP: *youll 

AS: Lutien's the expert, not me.

UP: lutiens the expert on EVERYTHING just about but xeyre not answering messages    
UP: i dont think xeyre hurt or anythinh. logat must just need more concentration than the other lands   
UP: *anything    
UP: whats lobaf like so far? 

AS: um. 

You frown and look around you again. The Land of Blades and Flowers is dismayingly lacking in both blades _and_ flowers, from what you can see of it. As far as you can tell, it's one big plain, covered in grass. 

That grass is remarkably strong and easily gets stuck in the moving parts of powered robotics, as you found out when the game dropped you in the middle of it. Literally dropped you, with Lielin right on top of you instead of next to you. That, of course, made you panic and squirm around a lot more than you really needed to, which meant that you ended up with blades of grass hopelessly snarled up in every joint in your brace, effectively immobilizing that arm. 

Good thing your leg brace is safely covered by your pants, preventing it from getting fouled up with grass. Maybe you've got a jacket in your captchalogue you can put on so this doesn't happen again? 

AS: it's not really what i expected i guess? like. really empty. 

UP: damn   
UP: well theres got to be some part of it that ISN'T empty 

AS: we'll start walking. 

UP: be careful

AS: you too. 

unseenPremonition stopped pestering augmentedSwordplay<!

"See if that's better," Lielin says as you stow your phone back in your pocket, and you nod and reactivate the power source for your servos. 

When your arm moves properly, you and your sibling grin at each other. Then you stand up, pull them to their feet, and start walking. 

**== > Alright, they're settled, for now. Let's check on the Mage and the Heir.**

Jazehn grabs your hand before you can reach for this book, and you hiss at them in irritation. _How come you can touch them and I can't?_ you sign, as soon as they let you go. 

"Maybe because I have enough sense to _not_ touch the ones that're surrounded by dead things?" Jaz automatically keeps their face turned toward you, so you can read their lips, but their eyes are fixed on the pile of bones the book's sitting on. "I mean, I'm guessing there's a reason for that, Myr." 

_Somebody put the bones there._

"Why do you say that?" Okay, now their attention's on you again, eyebrows raised slightly. They raise the hand that's currently covered in deep-red fire and make it burn a little brighter, lighting the tunnel that you're standing in a little better. 

As far as you can tell, LOTAD is just tunnels. Lots of tunnels. The green-grey light dropped you here—well, _near_ here, not right here, obviously, because you and Jaz have been walking since they got up off the ground and used their fire to make enough light to walk by—and so far you haven't found anything that even resembles a way out to the surface. 

Of course, that's assuming you're underground, which isn't really a given. The walls and floor are stone, you think, but you'd still expect bugs to be living in it if it were underground. Ants, preferably, but other bugs would make sense too, and so far you haven't seen any sign of anything living. 

Well, other than the bones. There's a lot of those, both just lying in the passageway and stacked in piles in the frequent alcoves you keep passing. There's alcoves with bones, and there's alcoves with books. 

Then there's this one, which has a book on top of a pile of bones. You really, really want to take a look at the former. 

Wait, didn't Jazehn ask you something? They're certainly looking at you like they're waiting for an answer. "Jaz?" you say out loud. 

They roll their eyes, already perfectly aware of the fact that you just got distracted enough to forget what you were talking about. _So,_ they sign, _how come you think the bones were put here? Maybe the book killed the people the bones belonged to._

"Books don't kill people, dummy. And look." You squat down and start digging in the bone pile, spreading it out into the hallway and very carefully _not_ looking at your sibling as you do that. You're pretty sure they're not too happy that you're digging around in unknown dead things. Which would make sense, if the dead things were fresh, but these? 

These bones aren't just dry; they're _clean_. Bleached white, even though there's no sun down here to bleach them, every scrap of flesh and sinew gone. Usually that takes either a _lot_ of scrubbing, or leaving the dead animal on an antbed for a week or two. Depends on how big an animal. 

Some of these bones are pretty big. You can't find any skulls, which would tell you exactly what kind of thing died, but you sort out bones into piles by the size of what they came from. One for itty-bitty bones, vertebrae smaller around than your pinky finger and delicate little leg or arm bones. One for things that might be the size of a big dog or a bobcat, bones that look like proper bones. You find a couple that look like hoofbeast bones—you've seen ones like them in Equius's collection—and under them is a huge vertebrae, easily as big around as your head...

Jazehn flicks the tip of one of your horns gently, trying to get your attention. _I don't know what I'm looking at?_ they sign when you look up at them. 

"Oh." You _were_ supposed to be explaining. "Somebody cleaned these and put them here. There's, like, a bunch of different animals, maybe five or six different kinds and I dunno how many animals total. No skulls." 

_You say no skulls like that's important._

"Mhm." You pick up a rib that's about the size yours would be if it wasn't in your body, frowning at it like it'll give you some answers on how it got here. Predictably, it doesn't. "Uh. If a lot of people or things die in one place and that place isn't right on top of an anthill so the ants eat all the mushy parts, you're gonna find more skulls because animals rip the other parts off and take them away to eat them. They don't drag heads off as much, because they're too big and it's too hard to get to the parts you can eat." 

You sit back on your heels and look up at Jazehn in time to see their face contort into something that you're going to classify as " _ew!_ " 

They've never particularly liked dead things. 

"So can I look at the book?" you ask again. 

Jaz runs the hand that's not on fire through their hair, glaring unhappily at the book. "Is this just because it's yellow?" 

"Kind of." 

"...if it kills you, I'm going to be mad." 

You take that as a yes, and reach up to pull the book down before Jaz can rethink their permission. 

**== > Dear Reader, we still have four kids we haven't yet checked on. These two will have to wait, in favor of...**

**== >Fenrir, I think.**

If Lutien touches you _one more time,_ you are going to make a very loud and unpleasant noise. 

"If you grab my hand again I'm going to scream," you inform xem, as xey absently reach out to correct your grip on the clear rod you've got a hold of. And xey _do_ freeze when you say that, greenish eyes snapping up to meet yours. 

There's a spark of anger in xeir eyes, too, but after a second xey just sigh and nod, letting go of the section of the complicated glass structure xey're holding so xey can push xeir white hair out of xeir face. "Fair enough, I guess. Sorry." 

"It's okay. Just...I don't get what you're trying to do, Lutien." 

Truthfully, you don't get anything. The game dropped you on LOGAT, the Land of Glass and Tone, which features some glass but no tones. Assuming "tone" means "sound," anyway. It's silent here, and you don't like it.

What you can see of LOGAT is the inside of half a glass sphere maybe twenty feet in diameter. The glass is greenish-blue, filled with cloudy bits and bubbles that make it impossible to really see out, and not breakable. You can attest to the "not breakable" part; your hand still hurts from punching it. 

You're starting to wish you'd picked a macekind specibus like Lielin, instead of dartkind. Maybe she'll trade with you next time you see her, or at least let you borrow one of her weapons. Having a nice blunt instrument for backup is always a good idea...

Speaking of instruments, that's the other thing in the upside-down glass bowl with you. Some kind of instrument. Well, Lutein said it was an instrument, anyway, and you're going to guess xey're right, because to you it looks kind of like if a spiderweb and a circuitboard had a baby. And if it was made of glass and half again as tall as you are. 

The sound it makes when Lutien taps it with the only loose piece of glass in here is less than pleasing, even if it's not actively awful. Just too quiet and muffled. 

Lutien growls softly, frowning at the glass thing. "Okay," xey say calmly, "watch where I put my hands. You have to put your hands _exactly_ where mine were, or this won't work." 

"What does it do if it does work?" 

The grin xey give you doesn't even try to keep from showing xeir teeth. If xey weren't your sibling, you'd instinctively take that as a threat. "Break things. Especially glass. This is an instrument from Beforus, Fen; Cronus gave me a book about them. Trust me on this one." 

"I'd trust you more if you didn't keep _touching_ me," you mumble, purposefully loud enough for xem to hear. Then you watch where xey put xeir hands, leaning in and grabbing on yourself once xey let go. 

After another minute or so of positioning (and one accidental brush against your arm, which you meet with an automatic snarl) Lutien stands on tiptoe to press xeir palm against a translucent red glass plate almost at the top of the thing. With xeir other hand, xey scoop up the loose piece of glass and carefully but firmly tap it against a rod right next to one of the ones you're holding. 

You expect another muffled chime. What you get is a pure, ringing sound that seems to get louder instead of fading away, drowning out Lutien's pleased chirr. The glass in your hands vibrates hard enough to almost shake you loose, but you hang on. 

Well, you hang on until the sound gets loud enough to be physically painful. _Then_ you let go, pressing your hands over your ears as the tone shifts higher when your hands leave the instrument. 

Lutien holds on a couple seconds more before xey grab for xeir ears. When xeir hands leave the instrument, it _shrieks,_ making you yowl in pain for the second before the sound goes beyond what your ears can pick up. 

Another second, and the supersonic note is replaced by the sound of shattering glass as both the instrument and the glass prison around you dissolve into what looks like exceptionally sparkly sand. Thankfully, there aren't any pieces large enough to cut you, but Lutien's left with green sand completely covering xeir white hair. 

You start brushing xem off, looking around as you do. The landscape looks a lot like a vastly magnified version of the instrument you just helped your sibling destroy—multicolored and translucent, with light from the sun striking highlights and rainbows off every rising tower and protruding turret. 

It's silent again. Maybe even more so, without the inverted bowl around you to throw back your and Lutien's breathing. 

Lutien is staring out at the glass landscape when you look at xem again, eyes wide and fascinated. You try to think of something to say and can only come up with one thing.

"Please don't tell me we're going to have to break _all_ of it, Lutien. It's too pretty for that." 

Xey shake their head, stifling a laugh as xey set off in the direction of one of the larger towers. You follow a couple steps behind, trying not to walk through any of the brighter beams of light for fear of burning your eyes.


	6. Chapter 6

**== > Be Ferrus, but just after Delphi closed that memo.**

Delphi shudders and drops their phone as soon as they close the memo, sinking to the smooth metal floor (ground? Maybe it's ground, there's certainly open sky above you, but you don't know how anything natural would be this even and metallic) and drawing their knees up to their chest, curling into a ball and not raising their head even as you hiss in alarm and come to kneel next to them. Did something hurt them? You know this place is dangerous, Dave and Karkat _just_ said how dangerous this place is...

"Del, are you okay?" you ask, one hand on their shoulder. They're nodding before you get the question all the way out, short sharp jerks of their head that don't let you see their face at all. "What's wrong? What's going on—" 

"Give me a _minute_!" they gasp out, uncurling one hand to push you back. "Just stop, stop, please..." 

You're taken aback by the fact that Delphi pushes you. That's not something she _does,_ it's not normal...it makes you worry. 

But if she wants you to back off, you'll back off. Which you do. You nod even though she can't see you, and get to your feet to examine what LOCOC looks like. 

Well, there's copper, assuming that's what the ground is, and there's crystals. You're in a kind of ravine, a place bounded by sheer cliffs covered in multicolored crystals. Looking up, you can't really see the top; just a thin sliver of pale blue sky. 

Huh. Getting out of here could maybe be a problem. 

You turn around to ask Delphi if they have a plan, and see that they're still sitting on the metallic ground, typing on their phone and chewing on their lip in the way that means they're getting text-to-talk messages through the little wireless earbud that's permanently connected to their phone. When you glance at said phone, you see olive green—Nonomi, probably. "Are Nonomi and Lielin okay?" 

"Mhm. There's not much in the part of their Land that they got dropped in." Delphi shrugs, sends one more message, and tucks their phone safely away, getting to their feet. All the stress and panic of a minute ago is either gone or very well hidden away; you can't tell which. "They're going to walk and look for something more interesting. Or, you know, more dangerous." 

"Dangerous?" 

"Ferr, this whole game is dangerous. _So_ dangerous." Delphi shudders, hugging herself and tilting her head back for a moment. Facing the sky. "I shouldn't've brought you guys here." 

"C'mon, Del, you know—" 

" _—you would've been_ so _mad if I went and had fun without you_?" she finishes before you can say it yourself, blind eyes fixing on you again. It's always a little creepy when Delphi's premonitions kick in; here in a place where you and her seem to be the only living things in the vicinity, it's somehow even more unnerving. "I know you would. I guess maybe that's kind of one of the reasons I chose you; you really would have been mad if you didn't get to play, and you don't deserve to have to get mad for that." 

"One of the reasons?" Okay, now you're curious. "What were the others?" 

Delphi just shrugs, taking a couple steps toward you and reaching over to find your hand. Once they've got their fingers laced through yours, they keep walking down the ravine, letting you steer them away from the sharp-looking crystals when they stray too close to one wall or the other. "You're like Dave and Karkat, I guess? You take care of us. I _know_ I'm going to forget that I have to take care of everyone, before we finish this; you'll make sure I don't mess up as badly as I could." 

"...I'll try." You almost want to be mad that she classifies you as the lusus-dad one of the group, but it's not like she's wrong. You've always been ready to step in between your siblings and any kind of danger, even before they really _were_ your siblings. "You really thought this through, huh?"

"I had to." Delphi shivers again, squeezing your hand gently. "You can't _see_ like I can, Ferr. Half the time when I started planning stuff out for this, I knew how I had things was going to lead to a timeline that got us all killed." 

Ouch. That's a definite no. 

"We're not going to get killed, though, right?" You guess you don't really need confirmation. If Delphi thought they'd get you and the others killed by entering the game, they wouldn't have done it. 

But they just bite their lip and stay silent. 

"Delphi, we're n—" 

"I don't _know_!" they yelp before you can finish your question again, coming to a dead stop and twisting their hand free of yours, using it to cover their face with. "I don't know, Ferrus! This was the only combination that didn't feel like it'd end up broken, but that's only because it felt like so many things at once! I d-don't know if it's 'cause I put Myr in—they're so chaotic I can't get a good g-glimpse of what they're going to do, ever—or because of somebody else, or because the game's too complex to look at ahead of time, but I can't _see,_ I don't _know_..." 

The last word trails off into a miserable whine, and you chirr instinctively, stepping in to wrap your arms around Delphi and letting them press up against you. "Del, hey. Hey." They're shaking, and you don't like that one bit. "It'll be okay." 

"What if I picked the wrong people?" they ask quietly, voice amazingly muffled by your shirt. "I could've said _Dave_ or one of the other grownups, somebody who knows what they're doing..." 

...hypothetical scenarios are not your strong point, but you try to remember everything that anybody's ever told you about the game so you can make a logical counterargument. "They didn't know what they were doing either, the first time through." 

"Did too." Delphi raises their head to frown at you. "Karkat and his friends, they got brought up knowing how to fight, and they still only kind of made it. And Dave-dad got. Trained. So did Jade and Jake, kind of. And Dirk and Aunt Roxy." 

Darn. Okay, slightly-logical arguments. "But they're not kids now, Del." 

"What?" Yep, that throws her for a loop; she just blinks in confusion at you, instead of tearing your argument apart in such a way that she can keep blaming herself for whatever bad happens. 

"Only kids play the game. Sgrub, Sburb, whatever Callie's game was called, whatever this one's called—"

"S-sim." 

"—yeah, S-sim, but kids play it. Not grownups." You give her your best _I dare you to argue face._

Since she can't see it, she argues. You really should have expected that. "So what? _Don't_ isn't _can't,_ dummy. Maybe it's just 'cause grownups don't play video games." 

"Dirk, Psii, Rose, Cronus—" 

"Damara, Sollux, okay you win, they play more than we do." Delphi makes a face, sticking out their tongue at you. "You're _stubborn_." 

"Dave says I get it from Karkat," you answer back proudly. (Karkat says you get it from Dave. You think they're both right.) "You picked the right team." 

"I sure hope so." They shake their head, blink twice, and pull away from you. "We should keep walking, Ferrus." 

You're cool with that. 

You still ask, "Why?" just to see if they'll give you an answer. And they do, in a surprisingly uninterested tone. 

"Because Myr needs to see us moving on the map; otherwise they'll just leave the book where it is. And we need the book." 

"Uh, what?" That makes exactly no sense. 

Delphi just shrugs. 

About thirty seconds later, your and Delphi's phones chime in unison, and they grin at you as they stop to pull their phone out and show you the memo notification there. 

silentMyrmidion created the memo guys 1 th1nk 1 found someth1ng?!

silentMyrmidion added vibrantFlames, unseenPremonition, and assuredGuardian to the memo!

"Something," you say. "That's vague." 

"Something _important,_ ," Delphi clarifies without clarifying at all, and you roll your eyes at them and turn your attention to the memo that Myr's already filling with yellow text.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [art for this chapter](https://knight-of-heart-and-art.tumblr.com/post/174676793651/doodlenix-okay-things-to-run-down-delphi) made by doodlenix also I'm sobbing because of sheer happiness over that art


	7. Chapter 7

silentMyrmidioncreated the memo guys 1 th1nk 1 found someth1ng?!

  
silentMyrmidion  added   
vibrantFlames,  unseenPremonition,  and  assuredGuardian  to the memo!

SM: guys guys GUYS 1 found th1s book? 1t was 1n the bone pile and jaz said not to touch it because 1t was gonna k1ll me but guess what!   
SM: 1t d1dnt! and 1ts got so many pages and the stuff on some of them MOVES and 1 can see you guys on th1s page!  
SM: l1ke a map! a really really cool map!

AG: MYRMYR, HOW DO YOU EVEN TYPE THAT FAST?

VF: thEy'RE ExcItEd about It. so am I.

UP: what is "it" exactly?

SM: 1ts a BOOK! 1 already sa1d that?

VF: It's a REally bIg book. and lIkE. thERE's somEthIng wEIRd about It? lIkE, untIl myR found thE pagE wIth you guys maRkEd on thE map, thEy flIppEd thRough It two or thREE tImEs, and I nEvEr saw the samE pagE twIcE.

UP: do NOT turn the pages anymore. stay on the page with the map oaku?  
UP: *okay  
UP: hey myr can you add the others to the memo?

SM: yeah but why?

UP: because i think that we should tear the important pages out but i want to ask lutien firstI  
UP: ...  
UP: ...myrmyr.

VF: yEah thEy alREady yoInkEd thE pagE out. 

UP: to quote davedad  
UP: fuck

silentMyrmidion added scholarlyFluff, augmentedSwordplay, affectionateContact, and untouchableDragon to the memo!

AG: wow, we actually got Delphi to swear. 

SF: Why exactly did you want to ask _me,_ anyway? You do know I don't actually know everything, right?

UP: youre a light player  
UP: the part of my head that says whats going to happen said we should ask you first  
UP: i guess if you were going to say yes anyway it eiesny matter?  
UP: *doesnt anyway itll be fine  
UP: are the bits that were moving still moving?

SM: nope!

AG: WAIT A SECOND.

VF: okAy, now It movEd.

SF: I'm going to assume it only moves when you do?

UP: well yeah thats why its so useful  
UP: i just wish me and ferrus had the map with us on it instead of jaz and myr...

UD: hm. Ferrus, do you still have the voodoo modus in your sylladex setup?

AG: YEAH, BUT IT'S ONLY SET UP TO PASS BETWEEN ME AND NONOMI?

UD: well I have mine set up for Lielin and for Jazehn.  
UD: Jaz sends it to my 'dex, I send it to Lielin's, she gives it to Nonomi and they send it to you.

AG: !!!

VF: that woRks! lIElIn, swItch youR modus ovER FoR a mInutE!  
VF: lIElIn?

scholarlyFluff pinged affectionateContact!

affectionateContact is offline!

UD: uh-oh.

scholarlyFluff pinged augmentedSwordplay!

augmentedSwordplay is offline!

SF: ... "Uh-oh" indeed.

* * *

**== > Be Lielin.**

_Uh-oh_ is something that _you_ just said too, coincidentally. Well, more yelped it than said it, as you pulled your mace out of your specibus in response to the _thing_ that just tumbled out of the tear that's just ripped itself open in the air in front of you and Nonomi. 

_Things_ , plural, actually. Four, five, seven, okay stop counting and stay in a stance that covers Nonomi's weak points while staying out of the way of their broadsword, watch the black-and-pink creatures that're spilling out of the hole in the world and try to figure out if they're actually hostile or if they're friendly and those sharp sharp teeth are just for show—

One of them flings itself at you, and Nonomi intercepts it halfway, the sharp edge of their blade slashing its stomach open and spilling sticky-looking black stuff that isn't really blood or guts all over the grass. Yep, that would definitely count as hostile. You dart forward and smash the thing's head with your mace, yelping again and almost gagging at the sick crunching sound it makes. 

"Nonomi, what's—" 

You have to stop and swing at another one of the creatures; Nonomi still seems to know what you were going to ask. "They're imps, I think! I don't know what kind, just—" 

Another sickeningly wet sound, this time more of a tearing than a crunch. They just tried to behead one of the imps, and only kind of succeeded because it does seem to be _dead_ but on the other hand its head is still on. 

You don't like this at _all_. 

"What are we gonna _do_?" 

Nonomi chirrs, sarcastic and a lil' bit irritated at the same time. "We kill them before they kill us; what do you _think_ we're gonna do?" 

Okay, so that was a dumb question, but hey. You could hope for a different, answer, right? 

You huff, smack an imp that Nonomi knocked down but didn't quite manage to finish off, and attend to the business of killing the imps. Hopefully without getting covered in that gross black stuff.

* * *

**== > Be Dave, watching that goddamn game.**

You just wish it actually showed you your kids. It doesn't, though, just a list of their names that you can click on for more info. Like, right now everyone other than Nonomi and Lielin are listed as "idle, location undisclosed." 

Lielin and Nonomi are listed as "strife, location undisclosed." You are less than happy about that. What if they get hurt? There's no one to help them, and they're not like you or Karkat or the others; your kids have never had to deal with being injured and patching it up themselves...

Hal leans over and takes the game out of your hands just as Nonomi's status switches back to idle. "Fuck— _hey_ , give it back—" 

"Yeah, no." He holds it up out of your reach; at this point you're more than willing to jump for the damn thing, who gives a fuck if it makes you look like a dumbass? Unfortunately, Hal's perfectly capable of keeping it out of your reach. "How long have you been sitting here?" 

"Forty-three minutes." The answer's automatic, thanks to the Time shit, and you can't help but do a doubletake at what comes out of your mouth. Really? That long? "Hal—" 

"Dave, if I let you you'll sit here for the next week." 

"They'll be out before then—Hal, I swear to god I'm gonna—" 

"What? You're going to what?" He sets the game down on the table, grabs your wrists when you try to scoop it up again, and waits patiently until you actually look at him. "Do you want to hit me? Would that help?" 

" _No_ , you fuckin' asshole, I want to watch my _kids—_ " 

"It doesn't help." Hal shakes his head as you try to pull out of his grip; you almost wish he'd bear down harder if he isn't going to let you go. The way he's holding on just tight enough to keep you in place feels like he's got you handcuffed or something; makes you feel even more powerless than before. "Dave. Dave, stop, okay? Look at _me._ " 

After a minute, you do. And the faint pained expression on his face convinces you not to tell him to go fuck himself, which is what you really want to say right now. 

"Go help Karkat out," the android says gently, once he's sure he's got your attention. "Go and calm down the _rest_ of your kids—" 

"What, so Del and the others in that fuckin' thing suddenly don't matter anymore?" Your voice breaks on the last word. Hal winces. 

"I never said that, and I never will. But you can't help them." 

"I can fucking _watch_!" 

"Watching doesn't do anything, and you know it!" Hal's face twists up in frustration—a look you're more used to on Dirk than him—and he lets go of your wrists, shoving you back when you go for the game again. "I swear to fuck, Dave, I'll take that thing and stash it somewhere you can't find it if you don't stop making Karkat be the only one who's not falling apart. He _needs_ you, you dumb fuck, your kids need you, and you're being a selfish _idiot_!" 

Staticky white noise eats at the edges of Hal's last couple words, and as he stops talking he steps between you and the table, staring at you and crossing his arms defiantly. The meaning's clear; he's not going to let you pick it up again without a fight. Maybe a physical one. 

And you can't really blame him. 

You _are_ being selfish. You _are_ being a fucking idiot. 

Fuck. 

You bite your lip, and turn around to go look for Karkat.

* * *

affectionateContact joined the memo!

augmentedSwordplay joined the memo!

AG: OH THANK GOD. ARE YOU GUYS OKAY?

AC: no! there's black stuff all over me!

AS: other than the imp blood we're fine though.

UP: oh davedad and karkat are NOT going to be hapoy about that   
UP: *happy

VF: captchaloguE youR clothEs, thEn sElEct thE "REstoRE FRom backups" optIon and dEcaptcha thEm. It'll gEt thE mEss oFF.

SF: ...Jazehn, do I want to know why you know that?

VF: ERIsol told mE. It woRks FoR scoRch maRks too.

AS: good to know!

AC: i just switched my modus over! don't take all my stuff, okay?

UD: i wouldn't do that. sending it now.

VF: I mIght. ≈;)

SM: you know that looks l1ke you have bacon on your head r1ght??

VF: ...  
VF: ≈:P 

SM: D:=

AS: guys. come on.  
AS: also i just sent the paper to ferrus.

UP: yep! we got it!   
UP: okay maybe myr and jaz should go through the book and look for anything else useful?

SM: =:D 

VF: okay, wE'RE goIng to go somEwhERE wIth lEss cREEpy bonE pIlEs fIRst. assumIng thERE's somEwhERE lIkE that on LOTAD.

UP: thays fair  
UP: *thats 

SF: Fenrir and I are going to keep exploring while you're doing that.

UD: we are?

AS: Lielin and me are going to keep moving too...we STILL haven't found anything but grass.

AC: and imps.

AS: and imps.

UP: be careful  
UP: that goes for all of you guys not just nonomi and lielin

UD: you sound like dad.

UP: nyeh 

SM: nyeh!   
SM: 1m clos1ng the memo now unless you guys have a reason not to!   
SM: ...

silentMyrmidion closed the memo guys 1 th1nk 1 found someth1ng?!

**Author's Note:**

> Delphi, server player and Seer of Time. (she/they) () (cobalt) (unseenPremonition) (Derse)
> 
> Fenrir, Rogue of Space. (they) (dartkind) (indigo/navy) (untouchableDragon) (Derse)
> 
> Ferrus, Maid of Blood. (he/they) (clubkind) (dark orange) (assuredGuardian) (Prospit)
> 
> Jazehn, Heir of Hope. (they) (firekind) (mahogany) (vibrantFlames) (Prospit)
> 
> Lielin, Witch of Heart. (she/they) (macekind) (pale yellow) (affectionateContact) (Prospit)
> 
> Lutien, Thief of Light. (xey/xeir) (ropekind) (moss green) (scholarlyFluff) (Derse)
> 
> Myrmyr, Mage of Life. (she/they/he) (opportunitykind) (gold) (silentMyrmidion) (Prospit)
> 
> Nonomi, Knight of Void. (they) (bladekind) (dark olive) (augmentedSwordplay) (Prospit)


End file.
